For those of you who don't know, there's a show on Lifetime called "Unreal." Written by a woman who used to produce on "The Bachelor," this show follows the fictional life of a woman producer on a show called "Everlasting" which is a parody of "The Bachelor." By showing the in-depth and behind the scenes relationships between these producers and the women on the show, it exposes audiences to the manipulation these women endure.
What I mean by manipulation is that producers on "The Bachelor" are given different goals. While one could be coaching and preening a villain, like this season's contestant Olivia, another could be starting an argument between the two show favorites. They do this because it's there job to get these women to create drama. To make the cliché and tired biblical metaphor--they are the snakes in the garden of Eden (literally.) They use girls' weaknesses to make them self conscious and vulnerable to the wills of the show's executives.
Listen, I'm not trying to call the producers on "The Bachelor" evil sociopaths because it's their job to make what America calls "good reality TV." Frankly, millions of people (shamefully including myself) enjoy watching the drama that these producers create. People have loved watching human confrontations since the time of gladiator races. All these producers do is exploit what they know about human nature to get reactions out of women that might not necessarily come about without a little persuasion.
For those of you who watch The Bachelor, these producers become the confidants of many of the participants of the show. When a girl is upset or going through a possible medical emergency usually one producer is by her side comforting and calming her down. Almost like a completely unethical psychological experiment, they gain a certain trust and respect from the participants and they use their secrets to bring about their downfalls or their successes with the Bachelor.
While the producers are simply "doing their jobs," I wonder how the American society could promote and adore such inhumane deception just for entertainment purposes. I'm not completely discounting the fact that some people may actually meet the loves of their lives on "The Bachelor," but I am pointing to the fact that many women would not act the way they do on the show in real life. "Unreal" breaks the façade of truth that is relatively trusted by followers of "The Bachelor."
"Unreal" is well founded in its debunking of "The Bachelor," but it has definitely taken the fun out of watching the show. Now, every time one of the contestants starts a fight with another girl or talks about someone behind her back, I think to myself was that her choice or did a producer make that 'suggestion' to her? It's a constant thought as I watch, but truth be told, I don't mind the smack of reality.
It keeps me grounded and aware that most of the shows advertised as real life are edited and manipulated in ways that create an alternate, false reality. While most "Bachelor" viewers know that the show is relatively fake, having "Unreal" publicly reveal some of the countless ethical atrocities that these women are put through, puts a dark spin on the makings of a show that's supposed to be about finding love.
